Shoppach denies sending text from Gonzalez's phone

Shoppach denies sending text from Gonzalez's phone

A New York Daily News report had Kelly Shoppach behind the infamous text message sent to Red Sox owners (using Adrian Gonzalez's phone) requesting a team meeting back when the team was in New York in late July.

Well, Shoppach was asked about that report on Sunday, and he denied having anything to do with it. In fact, he says he didn't even attend the meeting.

So, who do we believe? Would Shoppach go out of his way to deny the report, not even being with the team anymore? Or did someone within the Sox organization lie to the NYDN and make Shoppach the scapegoat in order to make the rest of the team look better?

Valentine famously called out Youkilis early in his stormy tenure as Red Sox manager in 2012. Remember? "I don't think he's as physically or emotionally into the game as he has been in the past for some reason," Bobby V said of Youk at the time.

The Red Sox traded Youkilis to the White Sox for two not-future Hall of Famers, outfielder Brent Lillibridge and right-hander Zach Stewart, later that season.

The former Red Sox manager (fired after a 69-93 season and last-place finish in 2012), and ex-New York Mets and Texas Rangers, skipper, also managed the Chiba Lotte Marines in Japan’s Pacific League for six seasons.

When asked by the New York Daily News if he's being considered for the post, Valentine responded: "I haven't been contacted by anyone on Trump's team."

Would he be interested?

"I don't like to deal in hypotheticals," Valentine told the Daily News.

Valentine, 66, has known the President-elect and Trump's brother Bob since the 1980s, is close to others on Trump’s transition team and has had preliminary discussions about the ambassador position, sources told WEEI.com’s Rob Bradford.

Valentine, currently the athletic director of Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Conn., is also friendly with current Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who, like Valentine, attended the University of Southern California.